II 




jc_-i ati2 HB.'' nar" je:: :Ke. 




GAIL BORDEN, JR„ 

TO 

DR. ASHBEL SMITH, 

SETTING P^OIITH AN IMPORTANT INVENTION IN THE 
PREPARATION OF 

A NEW ARTICLE OF FOOD, 



TERMED 



^nif iiia# 



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n. 






AND 

THE REPLY OF DR. SMITH 

THERETO; 

TO THE \ 

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION 

FOR THE PROMOTION OF SCIENCE, 

AT TllKIR SEMI-ANNUAL MKETTNG, TO BE HELD AT CHARLESTON 

IN MARCH NEXT. 



%. 
^ 





PRINTED BY GIBSON »fc CHERRY 

GALVESTON. FEB.. 1850. 




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introduction: 



The history of the following correspondence is briefly this : I wrote a letter to Dr. 
Ashbel Smith on my invention of the meat biscuit, to which he replied by addressing a let- 
ter to the American Association for the advancement of' Science, at the semi-annual meet- 
ing, to be held in Charleston, S. C, next month. Dr. Smith, having sliown me a copy of* 
his letter, I asked his permission to communicate copies of the same to other parties, to 
which he consented. To avoid the trouble of frequent copying in mo.nuscript, I have 
thought proper to have a number of" copies of the correspondence printed for private circu- 
milation, in order to invite the attention of practical scientific men to my discovery or 
invention. G. BORDEN, Jr. 

Galveston, Febtuary 15th, 1850. 



:*i^ ]K2: 'Tt'' Tt^ -mBz ««. 

OF 

GAIL BORDEN, Jr., OF UALVpSTON, 

TO 

DR. ASHBEL SMITH, 

s^etting forth an important invention in the preparation of food, termed MEAT 
BISCUST, and the reply of Dr. Smith tliereto, being a letter addressed to the Ame- 
rican Association, for the promotion of Science, at their semi-annual meeting to be 
lieid at Charleston in March next. 



Galveston, January 21st, 1850. 

Dr. Ashbel Smith — Dear Sir: Last July while attemptiRg to prepare some portable 
food for a few friends going to California, I made an important discovery, to wit : that of a 
new process of preserving the nutritious properties ol' meat ; and having taken the necessary 
steps to secure a patent for the invention, (mainly with a view to insure the integrity of the 
manufactvired article,) i am now advised to bring the discovery to the notice ol' the govern- 
ment. 

To this end I have already sent specimens of the Meat Biscuit to several scientific and 
practical men: and also to surgeons, and others connected with the Army and Navy of the 
United States, to whom I have also w^ritten in relation to the nature of my discovery, or in- 
vention, and its uses, requesting them to test the article, and to give me their opinion of it'? 
merits and importance. 

The high eminence to which you have attained in a knowledge of the arts and sciences 
induces me to request that you will notice this discovery : and I should be pleased, hkewise, 
to have an expression of your opinion, upon its merits, and the adaptability ot the article to 
common and general vise ; and for your further information, permit me here to repeat what 
I have said to those gentlemen and others, in relation to the siibject : 

First, then, the nature of my discovery or invention, consists in an improved process of pre- 
serving t\. nutritious properties of meat, or animal flesh, of any kind, by obtaming the con- 
centrated extract of it, and combining it with flour or vegetabte meai,and drying or baiting the 
mixture in an oven, in the form of a biscuit or cracker. 

This meat bread, or as Messrs. Mtinn & Co., of the Scientific American, call it '^porta- 
ble desiccated soiiji brcad,''^ contains a large amount of the most important alimentary sub- 
stances, in a very small bulk, and a convenient form, well adapted to the use of seafaring 
persons, travellers, hospitals, public institutions and private families. 

One pound of this bread contains the essence, or extract, of more than Jii'e pounds ot 
meat, (including its usual proportion of bone,) and one ounce of it will make a pint of rich 
soup; and its strength and power of nutrition may be estimated by the comparison of the 
small quantity which it requires to make so large a quantity ot soup, to say nothing ol its 
other great and superior advantages, wliich I will Speak of more at large hereafter. 

It has been suggested to me, to put into the composition, during its manufacture, spices 
and other condiments : but after reflection I have concluded not to do so, for it not unfre- 
quently happens, that these articles are put into prepared meats and portable soup, to con- 
ceal the bad quality of the meat of which they are made, and to disgmse the offensive flavor 
and other defects arising from this and other causes in its manufacture, on which account 



many perKons object to tlicir usp ; whereas, tlie article I propose to furiiii;li, urmiixctl as it 
U with spice, pepper, or even nalt, may be judged oC as to its genuineness and purity, by 
,-iny one desiriiig to use it ; nor does tlierc seem to me to be any sufficient reason lor adding 
these condiments, for these things require no expensive case or covering to preserve tliem in 
their original strength and purity, and may be used at the time of cooking with equal con- 
venience, and (which is a further advantage) in .such proportions as to suit the ever varying 
tastes ofditi'orent individuals. 

Since the discovery of presiTving the e.s.sence or extract of animal flesh by combining 
it with the statfof lile, I have made improvements, not only in the manufacture, but of the 
mode of preparing it for use : and I entertain no doubt of the success of the meat bread^ 
when properly tested. But, recollecting the ill-snicces-s which the Indian or corn meal met 
with recently in Great Britain, on account of prejudice and ignorance as to the proper mode 
of cooking it. I am the more anxious that a fair trial of the article should be made by prac- 
tical, as well as professional men. 

I would remark, that I expect to make a slill further improvement by the employment 
of suitable apparatus, by which the nutritious properties of tjie meat will be sepamfed from 
the corporeous parts by steam, and the broth evaporated by means of the vacuum pro- 
cess. This is the manner in which refined sugar is made from the juice of the cane : and 
it is believed that the same process applied to the manufacture of the meat bread, will 
exhibit as great an improvement in its strength, purity and its cheapness, as has attended 
its application to the manufacture of the sugar. 

I have manufactured some 600 pounds of this meat bread, but having hitherto no suita- 
■^le apparatus to apply any greater heat than boiling Avater, I have neces.sarily lost much of 
the nutriment contained in portions of the meat, which give to soups a richness, both palata- 
ble and alimentary. 

It may be proper to remark, that I have made experiments not only with beef, but also 
with veal, pork, fowl, fish and oy.'Jters, and a friend of mine at Goliad, having kindly offeree! 
to send me a tortoise of Aransas bay, I propose to make a portable soup bread, by which 
.such interior cities and localities as cannot supply themselves with the original animal, may 
be enabled to regale themselves upon the genuine " turtle soiip^ But I must further re- 
mark that beef, so far as my observation extends, makes a better article than veaL Young 
rheats I find, are like unripe fruits, they are tender and palatable, but not so nutritious nor 
HO easily digested as those whifch are matured. 

One word with regard to the invention. Perhaps it may be said that the extracting of 
the essence of meat is no new thing ; I am aware that it is not. Messrs. Munn & Co., in a 
letter to me on the subject, under date of 24th October last, say, that " the mode of prepar- 
" ing the concentrated liquid, or paste beef, has been long known to the world, such as ia 
" described in Gray's or Liebig's chemistry, but, as combined with flour and made into 
" bread, as claimed by you, is entirely new to us, and we do not think any such process has 
" ever been used before your discovery. The plan is, in our opinion, a valuable one." 

I am also aware that the essence, or concentrated extract, has been brought into solids 
Tike glue ; but this is ah operation that cannot be easily effected in climates that are either 
warm or hmnid : and in those climates where it can be done, the article is found to be too 
expensive for common use. I was, myself endeavoring to make this glue extract for some 
friends going to California, when I made my discovery. I had set up a large kettle and eva- 
porating pan, and after two days labor I reduced one hundred and twenty pounds of veal to 
ten pounds of the extract, of a consistence like melted glue and molasses; the weather was 
warm and rainy, it being the middle of July. I could not diy it either in or out of the house, 
and unwilling to lose my labor, it occurred to me, afler various expedients, to mix the article 
with good flour and bake it. To my great satisfaction, the bread was found to contain all 
the primary principles of the meat, and with a better flavor than simple veal soup, thickened 
with flour in the ordinary method. 

This process of mixing and baking, I found to be easily and quickly done, and to an- 
sAver the double purpose of concentrating in the same cake, the nutritious properties of 
animal and veo-etablc food, so essential to the healthful sustenance of man. This extract of 



riniiiiul flesh may aliso be coniliiiuul with corn, or other vegetable meal, and Ibr some marine 
piu-poses, 1 intend to employ the potato and other antiscorbutic vegetables, leaving farinace- 
ous qualities, to desiccate the extract. 

Nor am I ignorant that portable soups and concentrated meats, preserved in hermeti- 
cally sealed ves.sel.s, have been long known and used, but were very inconvenient to pax;k 
and carry, and liable to deteriorate. My meat biscuit is as convenient and portable as any 
other hard biscuit, Be.sides, these liquid soups have the objections before mentioned : they 
are so drugged with high seasoned condiments, that it is difficult to know of what meats they 
are made. 

From what I have already said of my etibrts to make the glue, I feel justified in affirm- 
ing, that it is difficult of manufacture, if not altogether impracticable, (as I have found it,^ 
in a moist and warm climate. My invention discloses a process by which, alter obtaining the 
extract, the desiccated soup bread may be ready for packing away in less than sixty minutes. 
And the facility and cheapness with which, by proper apparatus and machinery, this bread 
cafi be made by my process, will enable not only seafaring men and travellers to use it, but 
it can be exported (or common use to every country where meat is scarce and dear. 

I propose, during the ensuing spring and summer, to erect an establishment, and to put 
up apparatu.s and machinery, by which I can manufacture twenty beeves, or ten thousand 
pounds of beef, or other edible meat, per day. I am not able as yet to say how cheap the 
bread can be manufactured on an extensive scale, and by the aid of these improvements : 
but I can inform you, that so far as my experiments have gone, I find it, even in the clumsy 
manner in wliich I have hitherto manufactured it, much the cheapest and best way of 
making soup for family use. 

With respect to the use and advantages of the meat bread, I would say, that 

To the Navy and every Marine service, it would be invaluable. The health of sea- 
men would be preserved, and their comfort increased by the use of it. Having the quahty 
and flavor of meat, fresh from the slaughter, it would doubtless prove antiscorbutic ; and there 
fore, with the sailors' salt provision, would be of the utmost importance. It can be cooked 
with great advantage with many other articles of diet : one day a soup with hard biscuit, — 
the next with beans or peas, — the third with rice, thus having a fresh article of meat every 
day. 

To Travellers, on long journeys, through destitute regions, this meat bread will be 
^f great benefit, and of incalculable value. 

The Geologist or Surveyor, with a few ounces of this bread in his pocket, can, with 
a hunters cup, make a dish of good palatable and nutritious soup in a. few minutes. 

For Exploring expeditions, and parties of reconnoisance, it Avould be found very use- 
ful. Those persons employed in making geological and mineralogical surveys of our newly 
acquired territories, as well as those running the boundary, would realize an immense saving 
of expense and labor by the use of tliis meat bread. 

It will also be found most convenient and useful for Hospitals. A patient can, at 
-shortest notice, have it prepared to any degree of nutrition, from a weak broth to *■' i most 
nutritious soup. The absence of grease from the composition, while it possess^ the nutritive 
qualities of the meat, renders it peculiarly adapted for the use of invalids. 

For Family use, this meat bread will be found very convenient, and especially so in 
warm weather, as it requires little fire (or a lamp of alcohol) to prepare it. The various 
ways in which it can be served up, will be explained in the " directions tor cooking," accom- 
l^anying each package. 

You will remember that the combination is simply the extract of meat, with flour or 
vegetable meal : and to make a palatable soup, it should at least be seasoned with salt and 
pepper. In judging of the merits of this meat biscuit, you must not expect to find anything 
better than can be made with liesh meat, and the article with which it is combined ; but the 
great excellence is, that the meat in this form is always fresh — a desideratum not only to 
the mariner, but to all others. 

I have not sold a pound of this meat bread as yet, and lest a spurious article should 
be ofTercd, I do not hitcnd to do so. until I am prepared to manufacture it on a larger scale : 



4 

and I will tlien only sell tlirouirli responsible agcnl-s. I would Jicrc remark, tlial bhoiild' I 
obtain a patent, I do not intend to sell rights to manufacture the article, except to the most 
responsible persons, such as are able to carry it on in a public place, on an extensive 
scale. When the pirblic can witness this meat bread manufactured ol" a good article of fat 
meat, either beef, mutton, pork, or other edible fiesli, the importance of this new article of 
diet will be seen and appreciated : its use become common, and a new avenue for the mar- 
ket of beef, pork and other meats, will be opened. This meat bread will be manufactured 
where meats are plenty and cheap, and c^tported to countries where they are both scarce 
and dear, thus proving mutually beneficial to the producer and cousumcr. 

This m(!at bread should be made of fat and well-conditioned animals ; tor it is only in 
such that the nutritive and alimentary properties ol" meat are contained; besides, it is more 
profitable, as grease form*? no part of the composition of the bread, it will pay much of the 
crtpense of the maniTfacture. In Texas, the liide, taflow and grease of a fat beef, will pay 
for the animal on foot. From this, it may be inferred, that the meat biscuit can be manu- 
liictured at aerate which will justify its use by all who can use meat in any form whatever. 

The quality of this meat bread depends upon the integrity of its manufacture : and tc 
insure this object, I have applied, as I have already said, for a patent, and from the favora- 
ble opinion expressed of" its novelty and utility by Messrs. Munn & Co., as well as by otfier;? 
in this state, skilled in the preservation of meats. I have no dombt of obtaining the right to 
the invention, and thereby be enabietf to control and insure the manufacture of a genuine 
article. 

Capt. Jno. G. Tod, believing the discovery a valuable one, and especiaJly for the ^lavy 
and militury corps, on detached service, proposes to bring the subject before the govern- 
ment. 

If the government will adopt the article as part of a ration for her seamen, say one 
ounce each per day, I can furnish a genuine article, upon a reasonable notice, and at a rate 
less than the whiskey ration, which I imderstand is to be abandoned, and some article of 
diet substituted, and what better than a bowl of good fresh soup ? 

To advance this object, we have, as stated in the beginning, requested several prac- 
tical gentlemen to test the article by a careful examination of its qualities and use. For 
this purpose, likewise, I wish you to forward the parcels herewith accompanying, to such 
fi' your friends a.s will take the trouble to investigate the subject. 

Respectfully your obedient servant. 

G. BORDEN. Jr. 



Evergreen, Galvebtox Bay, Februar}^ let. 1850, 

To Dr. Alexander Dallas Baciie, President of the American Association, 

for the advancement of Science^ etc., etc., etc. 

1 liave received from Mr. Gail Borden, Jr., a highly respectable citizen of this state, 
the accompanying letter, to which I beg to invite the attention of your learned body. Mr. 
Bord'en claims, as you will see, to have discovered a process for conibining in a cheap, con- 
venient and portable form, all the nutritive portions of animal and farinaceous food. His 
invention has the further atl-vantages that all refuse, excrementitious and superfluous 
matters are rejected ; and that the meat biscuit, for so Mr. Borden denominates his pre- 
pared article, can be preserved/rf.?/(, without condiments or preservatives of any kind, for 
year.«i, and in all climates — care only being taken that it be kept dry. From several satis- 
factory trials, it is proved that Mr. Borden'.s process k equally adiipted for combining any 
farina, any flour, or meal, with any of the meats of the animal kingdom used by man for 
food: but he has hitherto confined himself to combining wheat flour with the flesh of neatcattle. 

I have examined wath careful attention, and have several times eaten of the soup 
made of the meat biscuit — but, before speaking further of its uses, I w^ill briefly allude to 
the manner of preparing the biscuit in question. The nutritive portions of the beef, ox 



5 

other meat, iinmciliutt'ly on its l)fiiig slauglitorcd, arc, by long boiling, aojiurat«'d I'roni the 
bones and fibrous and cartilaginous matters : the water holding the nutritious matters in 
solution, is evaporated to a considerable degree of spicitude — this is then made into a dough 
with firm wheaten flour, the dough rolled and cut into the form ol biscuits, is then desic- 
cated, or baked in an oven at a moderate heat. The cooking, both of the flour and the 
animal food, is thus complete. The meat biscuits thus prepared have the appearance and 
firmness of the nicest crackers or navy bread, being as dry, and breaking or pulverizing 
as readily as the most carefully made table crackers. It is preserved in the torm of bis- 
cuit, or reduced to a coarse flour or meal. It is best kept in tin cases hermetically soldered 
up ; the exclusion of air is not important, humidity alone is to be guarded against. I have 
Been some of the biscuit perfectly Ircsh and sound that have been hanging in sacks 
eince last July in Mr. Borden's kitchen : and it is to be borne in mind, that in this climate 
articles contract moisture and moulder promptly, unless kept dry by artificial heat. 

For making souji of the meat biscuit, a batter is first made of the pulverized bis- 
cuit and cold water — tlu's is stirred into boiling water — the boiling is continued some ten 
or twenty minutes — salt, pepper, and other condiments are added to suit the taste, and the 
eoup is ready ior the table. I have eaten the soup several times, — it has the fresh, lively, 
clean, and thoroughly done or cooked flavor that used to form the charm of the soups of 
the Rocher de Cancale. It is perfectly free from that vapid unctuous stale taste which 
characterizes all prepared soups I have hitherto tried at sea and elscAvhere. Those chemi- 
cal changes in food which, in common language, we denominate cooking, have been per- 
fectly effected in Mr. Borden's biscuit by the long continued boiling at first, and the subse- 
quent baking or roasting. The soup prepared of it is thus ready to be absorbed into the 
system without loss, and without tedious digestion in the alimentary canal, and is in the 
highest degree nutritious and invigorating. It is to be noted, moreover, that the meat bis- 
cuit is manufactured without salt, pepper, or any condiment or chemical antiseptic what- 
ever : thus the freshness or peculiar properties inherent to recently slaughtered meat are 
preserved, and* a simple and perfect guarantee furnished of the goodness of any particular 
parcel. To the soup made of Mr. Borden's biscuit, as already intimated, salt and the 
various condiments used in soups may be added to suit the taste ; also, toasted bread, vege- 
tables, etc., etc, as circumstances permit and fancy suggests, until the varied catalogue of 
the potages at the restaurateurs may be rivaled. 

The difi'erent portable soups and prepared meats for long voyages, which I have seen, 
answer only imperfectly the ends for which they have been designed. Being prepared 
more or less with condiments, tliese meats differ from freshly slaughtered animal food ; they 
contain fibrous and indigestible portions^ being more or less liquid in form, they are incon- 
venient to carry, and besides, thus necessitate the transportation of useless bulk. The 
meats put up for long voyages, in the manner just alluded to, are not wholly freed from 
fatty matters : these undergoing slight chemical changes in time, impair both the taste and 
quality of the food, into which they enter ; nor are these meats so completely cooked as by 
Mr. Borden's double process of boiling and baking. 

I might here insist on the very great conveniences of Mr. B.'s meat biscuit arising from 
its dryness. For long voyages, it is best preserved in soldered tin cases or tight casks : but it 
may be carried in sacks, suspended from one's saddle bow, for weaks or months over the 
prairies, or through the desert, without risk of spoihng, using care to keep it dry ; and 
when a case or cask is opened, it may be economised for days or weeks, according to cir- 
cumstances : whereas the liquid portable soups and prepared meats must be at once eaten , 
or the}^ soon spoil, especially in damp or hot weather. 

As no condiments nor chemical preservatives enter into the meat biscuit, it retains jan^' 
changed and unimpaired, all its qualities of freshly slaughtered meat : and as already inti- 
mated, furnishes its oAvn evidence and guarantee of soundness at the time of using. 

As the meat biscuit requires only ten to twenty. minutes to be made into a hot delicious 
soup, with the aid of fire and water only, its advantages for family use, lor hospitals, at sea, and 
on long journeys, over land, and wherever it is desirable to prepare food promptly, must be 
obvious. 



6 

Tlic purainount excellence ol Mr. B.^a diac^ivvry. appears to mc to consist in this, tliat 
ii iij a UK'at biscuit — it is meat and bread. Human lile may be sustained, as we all know, 
on a diet ol' a single kind, but tlu; highest degree uf corporeal and mental strength and 
liealth can be long maintained only by the use ol both vegetable and animal food ; cspe- 
cially when labors, fatigues and privations are to be undergone. I b(>Iieve there does not 
exist in nature or art the same amount of nutriment in as small bulk or weight, and as 
well adapted to support, efficiently and permanently, mental and physical vigor, as is con- 
centrated in the meat biscuit in question. One ounce of the biscuit meal makes a pint of 
rich, invigorating animal and farinaceous soup. The biscuit being converted into soup by 
its combination with water, all the requirements of a good food are answered, animal and 
vegetable aliment in a sufficient bulky form. 

Dr. Franklin has observed in his memoirs, that the nutriment of a half" pennyworth of 
malt only is contained in a pint of ala : this is one of the very lew errors into wliich that 
practical philosopher fell. As in malt liquors, so in soups, there is a chemical union of the 
alimentary matters with the water, and we have in soup the bulk a.nd ^ime)it^ ol' the-^f*'^"*^ 
■water, as well as the animal and vegetable principles, all which are necessary for sustain- 
ing the human system. I mention this to illustrate the fact, that soup made of the meat 
biscuit will go as far in supporting life, as several times the like quantity of dry bread 
and meat, with water separate as a beverage. 

If my limits permit, I shall further on, cite some fiicts to show that the meat biscuit 
can be prepared at a very low price, in countries where, as in Texas, beeves on toot are 
extremely cheap : from its small bulk, the cost of transportation to other coimtries will be 
light. 

We have thus, in the meat biscuit, an article of food, partly (tirinaceous, and partly 
animal, such as the system requires for long continued use ; it is easily preserved in all 
climates, seasons and circumstances — it is in a form the most concentrated and convenient 
lor carriage — it is prepared with little trouble, and speedily ; by its cheapness, it Is accom- 
modated to universal use. 

The advantages of the meat biscuit, for hospitals, are obvious ; a nice, cheap, fresh, 
invigorating and easily digestible soup can be prepared in a few minutes, at the moment al- 
most, when the taste and condition of the patient require it. 

For private families, and especially small ones, and in the warm season, it is conve- 
nient by dispensing with the long hours of boiling required to prepare ordinary soups. 

On long sea voyages, it furnishes at a cheap rate, that indispensable requisite of health 
and preventive of scurvy, an occasional ration of fresh meat. But it is not for long 
voyages alone, to which it is adapted. Every one who has been at sea, knows the sparing 
use of fire on board ships. What could bo more grateful, invigorating and healthful for 
the sailor, dripping with water, and shivering with cold, than a bowl of hot soup, well 
reasoned with pepper, or other warming condiments ? and how vastly more salutary than 
the ration of grog ! 

It appears to be a part of the mission of America, if I may use the phraseology, not 
merely to furnish a home to refugees from the oppressions and crowded population of the 
old world, but also, to feed in part, the poor of those countries who never taste good meat: 
•and to whom, even a miserable flesh is a great rarity. Baron Dupin, in 1815, estimated 
that two thirds of the French nation did not taste meat once a week, and such meat as 
falls to the lot of the poor ; my personal observation confirms his statement ; and this is 
deemed too, a favorable average for the continent of Europe. The destitution of the 
starving Irish has, through the newspapers, been made painfully familiar to everybody. 
The meat biscuit can be furnished at such rate, and at so small a cost of transportation, 
that iimevdoi' sotmd animal food maj' be in reach of almost every paviper and every beggar 
in Europe, unless its introduction be debarred by restrictive duties. 

There are other uses nearer home which would furnish a market for, and be greatly 
benefitted by the meat biscuit. Without mentioning more particularly our plantations, I 
will barely allude to the fact, that innnense quantities of jerked beef are annually im- 
ported from South America into Cuba, for the sugar and cofTec plantations of that Island 3 



%vitli equal Ircodora to import tlie moat biscuit, ilie latter would ilriv^e the jerkt'il beet' 
Ironi the market. 

The uses ot^the meat biscuit liitherto mentioned, apply to ordinary life; there are other 
wants and necessities which may be considered as in some degree new or occasional, devel- 
oped, in part, by the spirit of enterprize which characterizes the age we live in: in part, by 
new discoveries and great pohtical changes, Avhich wants and necessities can be met and an- 
swered adequately only by the meat biscuit. I refer to enterprises, where, with small means 
of transportation, regions are to be visited containing only scant supplies, or wholly destitute 
of provisions; as in traversing wildernesses of days' and in weeks' journeys each — such as 
the vast solitudes in the interior of our great western territories, where, under the most 
favorable circumstances, the local means of subsistence are extremely scanty and pre- 
carious; and where, amid the vast mountain ranges to be crofsed, travellers may be 
overtaken with snows of weeks, and even months duration — such also as in journeys over 
the sandy jornadas of Mexico ; or in traversing the almost boundless deserts of central 
Africa, or in penetrating the regions of eternal winter which surround the poles. For all 
such e.nterprizes, whether of war, or peace, of commerce, or science, the meat biscuit is pre- 
eminently adapted; furnishing ample nourishment, so small in bulk, and so light of weight, 
atj to admit of easy transportation. On expeditions in inhospitable regions, such as alluded 
to, to enable the system to withstand the extremes of heat or cold, or the influence of pesti- 
lential climates, it is not enough to possess the means of merely keeping body and spirit 
together ; success and safety, amid the privations incident to such exposure, depend on 
maintaining the mind in high tone, as well as the body ; for this purpose a good nourishing 
diet, consisting both of animal and vegetable food, such as furnished by Mr. Borden's dis- 
covery, is absolutely necessary. The English in their East Indian expeditions, used, some 
years since, to take supplies of animal glue, with which they made soup ; so far as I 
know, they still do so. The meat biscuit is in every respect, a greatly superior article : as 
well as to peinmican, still used on long sea voj"ages. 

The settlement of" Oregon, and the incorporation of the Californias into our Union, ren- 
der a direct communication overland with those distant territories, one of the most urgent 
political and industrial wants of our country. A vast railroad has been projected ; under 
the most favorable circumstances long years must elapse before it could be constructed ; it is 
proposed, in the mean time, to pierce the continent at one or more of its narrow isthmuses 
further south, as'an imperfect substitute for direct communication — themselves most gigantic 
enterprises. All the while with the rapid progress of our people westward, the necessity of 
a direct intercourse with the Pacific regioi\s, and with the vast intervening disiricts, tor the 
purpose of making settlements, is more and more imperative. 

One ounce of the meat biscuit makes a pint of rich nutritious soup. Five ounces a day, 
or a pound for three days, would be an ample supply for one man. Three hundred pounds 
is commonly estimated a mule load ; let us take half this weight, or one hundred and fifty 
pounds as a load, as subsistence for the mule is scanty in places, and the journey long, we 
see that a light mule load will alone support, in high health, seven men upwards of two 
months. The meat biscuit is the bridge across the wilderness, it is the true manna in the 
desert. 

The iron men of the frontier may, with perhaps a little parched corn in their pockets, 
plunge boldly into the wilderness, relying for subsistence on their rifles : Even they must 
not go in too large ccmpanies ; but the difficulties to be encountered are not imaginary, as 
the privations and disasters of numerous expeditions since the discovery of the California 
mines too well testify. A company started fi-om Galveston for California by the overland 
route ; they were reduced to eat their mules, and at length compelled to return, without 
accomplishing their journey. A few pounds of the meat bread would have obviated this 
calamity and disappointment. 

The newspapers have made the countr}' familiar with the frightful sufferings of Col. Fre- 
mont's late expedition to discover a route south of the South Pass, and with the disastrous 
fate of some of his companions. These men who perished miserably on their way, on foot, 
to the settlements, might have easily carried, even in their coat pockets, enough of the meat 



8 

biscuit, with tlu- 'aid of ii tin cup ami Ijox ol iiKil<;lif s. tojuivt; eiialjU-il llicni to reach tlic set- 
tlements in health and stiiety. Ten pounds, a weight easily packed by a foot traveler, is sul- 
ficient lor tliirty days' .subsistence. Tlie fire lor cool<ing is on*^ of the greatest dangers in the 
Indian country, as it betrays the situation of the camp to the iiostile Indian ; the advantage 
nf a small and momentary flame, such as is adequate to prepare the meat lii.scuit, will not 
be lit^htiy estimated by persons whose path has been among hostile Indians. Our frontier, 
it is to be feared, will be long subject to Indian depredations. Mr. Borden's discovery 
o-rcatly f^^'ls to our means of prompt and efficient pursuit and protection. 

Indeed I feel quite confident that the meat biscuit will, ere long, lorm a part of the indis- 
pensable s\ipplies of every expedition into our western wilds, and of every military corps on 

our frontier. 

Every one familiar with the recent Mexican campaigns, remembers the delays and 
embarrassments occasioned by want of rations of easy tran.sportation. It was often imprac- 
ticable to pvirsue, even a small corps of the enemy. A similar want has been the chief diffi- 
culty experienced by the French in the subjugation of Algiers ; for want of subsistence, the 
French troops could not pursue the Arabs in their razzias, on their retreat to the mountain 
fastnesses. We have here the means of obviating similar difficulties, delays, and embar- 
rassments hereafter. Every invention which shortens war, is a gain to humanity. 

Expeditions are in progress to discover Sir John Franklin, who, if alive, is probably 
frozen up in regions of eternal snow. Where ships are detained by ice for months, or 
crushed and destroved by it, the seamen may make good tlieir retreat, provided tliey can 
carry food enough to serve them by the way. I need not allude particularly to cases where 
ship's crews are compelled to take to their boat, or the thousand similar ca.sualities to which 

they are liable. 

For upwards of a thousand years, science, commerce and philanthrophy have cast 
wistful and longing eyes toward that vast terra incognita, hidden in the interior of Africa. 
An opinion has long prevailed that in the hitherto inaccessible regions of that immense 
continent, mineral wealth, vegetable productions, animals, and perhaps, forms of civiUzation 
exist as yet unknown to the rest of the woi-ld. Among the formidable obstacles to be encoun- 
tered in penetrating thither, has been the want of a suitable food to sustain life on the jour- 
ney from the coast. The vegetable gum, knowni as gum Arabic, has been the chief, and 
indeed often, the sole resources of the traveler over the desert, and through the swampy 
countries — this barely supports life, but does not impart the mental and physical vigor 
requisite to resist the prostrating influences of those hot and deadly climates. Mr. Borden't; 
discovery supplies this want ; hght and not bulky, and not liable itself to be spoiled and 
rendered unfit for use by the climate. 

To enumerate the various uses for ordinary life, and new occasions which the meat bis- 
cuit may subserve, would extend this already long letter to a most unreasonable length ; — 
they will become more and more obvious on reflection, to every man of observation ; but it 
would after all, be a discovery of only limited utility, unless it can be furnished at so low a 
price as to enter into free competition with the ordinary means of sub.sistence. From con- 
versation with Mr. Borden, and learning the manner of preparation, and the cost of mate- 
rials I am satisfied it may be one of the cheapest articles of food. Putting it up in tin cases 
or casks costs less than barreling a like amount of beet'; being much smaller in bulk, and 
dry, its transportation is less. Indeed, it may be taken where tlie cost of freight on beef or 
pork would debar the introduction of these latter articles. Among our staple productions in 
Texas are beef cattle, which find abundant pasturage on the broad prairies at all seasons — 
the cost of beef on foot, may be estimated at one and a quarter cent per pound. 

Public confidence, in an article like the one which forms the subject of this letter, depends 
oTcatly on a well-grounded assurance of its careful and correct preparation. Being made 
without any condiments, or chemical antiseptic, its taste and smell are, at all times, evidence 
of its .sounchiess and faithful manufacture. 

It has appeared to me, that an invention promising so much practical convenience and 
\jtility. deserves the examination and judgment of your learned association. I shall accord- 
ino-ly torward to Charleston, in time lor your semi-annual meeting, next month, in that 



I 



city, some of the parcels oi meat biscuit placed at my disposition by Mr. Borden. It is aho 
my intention to transmit others ol" the parcels to the American Medical Association, which 
will meet in Cincinnati in June next, for their examination and judgment. 

I have the honor to be, Mr. President and Gentlemen, Members of the American Asso- 
ciation for the advancement of science. 

Your very obedient servant, 

ASHBEL SMITH. 



NOTE. — Since the above letters were put in type, Mr. Borden ha.s received intelli- 
gence of the granting of letters patent tor the invention, vesting in him and his legal repre- 
nentativee the exclusive riirht to the same. — Publishers, 



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